Freddie Burns admits he is tormented over choice between Gloucester and Leicester

The England fly-half says the decision on where to sign his next contract is giving him sleepless nights and has affected his form

Dilemma: Freddie Burns has been at Gloucester his whole career (Photo: Getty Images)

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Freddie Burns does not know if he is coming or going – and it is eating him up inside.

Gloucester are desperate to keep the England fly-half at Kingsholm, where he has played his whole career.

But Leicester want to lure him to Welford Road in anticipation of losing club captain Toby Flood to France at the end of the season.

Burns, 23, who plays for the Cherry and Whites against Edinburgh in the Heineken Cup this weekend, has three caps to his name. England won each of those games, beating the world champion All Blacks last year and securing a historic series sweep in Argentina in June.

On the face of it, life could not be better – in demand and in the reckoning for a place in England’s 2015 World Cup squad.

Yet the Bath-born star is a caught in a dilemma which has hit his form and given him sleepless nights.

Should he stay with a club for whom he has played more than 100 times and scored almost 1,000 points. Or should he go?

“This year has definitely not gone as I hoped, in fact, it’s gone a lot worse,” he admitted.

“I’ve struggled to separate on-field from off-field. Everyone knows I’m out of contract and there’s a decision to be made.

Gloucester, though still alive in Europe, are down amongst the dead men in the Premiership. Burns, widely tipped to make the England No.10 shirt his own in 2013, failed to start a Test for which rival Owen Farrell was available.

“The sooner I make a decision, the sooner I can push on,” he said. “But the minute I feel clear on something, I wake up the next day unclear.

"It’s a real 50-50 call. The last couple of months have been the toughest I’ve known.

“It sounds ridiculous because I’m being offered the chance to play for some great clubs. But this is a decision which, potentially, will define my career.”